Got rejected from UCLA. I am thinking of appealing. If I have a chronic illness that was diagnosed this year, is this good grounds for appeal? Or do I have to include more about my academic achievements? Anybody have any tips about UCLA appeals?
From Ms Sun’s UC Blog:
Guidelines on Writing Your Appeal
Remember, telling the admissions office they made a huge mistake is not going to help you. For your appeal to be considered, you must prove that you are a much stronger candidate than what was presented in your application. Specifically, you must present new and compelling information that was not previously available to the admissions office. So if you failed to include information regarding extraordinary hardship or exceptional talent/extracurriculars on your application, you can discuss these things on your appeal as reasons for the UCs to reconsider you. Make sure you describe exactly how the exceptional talent/extracurriculars qualify you for UC admissions or how the hardship prevented you from achieving academically.
The focus of your appeal should be why you are an excellent candidate for the UCs, not why your hardship is horrible or why you have to get into the UCs. Your objective is to explain why the UCs should be interested in you, not how much you love the UCs. State your case concisely (one page appeal is ideal and two pages are acceptable) and don’t exaggerate or try to be dramatic. Keep in mind that the acceptance rate on appeal is less than 3% at Berkeley and UCLA, and under 10% at most other UC campuses.
Does that illness being diagnosed this year prove that you are a better student than they initially thought? If so, how? Why does this make you a better candidate to contribute to their campus from here on out? Be prepared to explain those succinctly and effectively.